Look, I get it.
How many times do we need to see the same character getting rebooted, re-suited and re-cast?
Since the dawn of TV there have been almost a dozen different actors portraying Big Blue in live action, never mind the dozens who've done so as well in animation.
Some have been incredible and memorable.
Others are Dean Cain.
Moving on.
So again, I get it. We just had Henry Cavill do an admirable job in his films (troubled productions and grimdark they may have been) and I'd have loved to see what might've happened were he allowed to further explore the role.
We also had Tyler Hoechlin on "Superman and Lois" do some truly terrific work in 4 seasons of their show, really getting to explore a different side of Clark then what we normally get. Really leaning into Superman as a parental figure, how one balances the responsibility of family and work. Of being literally powerless to help when his loved ones need him the most.
And those are just the 2 most recent performers.
Tom Welling's 10 Seasons on Smallville, Brandon Routh getting the chance in both Superman Returns and briefly during a "Crisis on Infinite Earths" CW Crossover. Tim Daly voicing the character for many years on the animated series.
And of course, my Superman. Christopher Reeve.
Man ....
So the question is ultimately, why?
Why are we doing Superman again?
And frankly, I think the answer is the same now as it's been for as long as I've been alive.
Because the world needs Superman.
It always needs Superman.
The world is dark and scary. Everywhere you turn there are people who lie, who hurt others for their
own benefit, who think it's okay to judge others just for being who they are. The world is full of privileged folks who take and take and give nothing back. Who see other people as lesser beings not worthy of their attention or support.
The world is frankly full of darkness.
Superman is hope. Superman is Light.
And yeah, make your religious allegorical comments or whatever here. Obviously there's a whole plethora that can be drawn between the origins and motivation of Kal-El, Last Son of Krypton and Jesu Christo, God's Only and Begotten Son. Go for it. Nothing heretical about that. All art is drawn from inspiration of the art and beliefs that came before it.
Which is also why we continually re-cast and retell these stories. In a previous blog/essay I spoke about this, so in short - we retell these tales because it helps to reinforce the positive messages from these stories.
Don't get me twisted. As a cynical Gen-X man of a certain age, I too like my stories of over-powered types dispensing justice with their glistening muscles, their massive phallically symbolic weaponry spraying hot lead all over their enemies in a long, messy, homoerotic stream. I loved collecting Wolverine comics. I love ninja movies. Hell, I love the Expendables movies, dumb as they are for their sheer simplicity of right vs wrong violence. Fuck, I love a John Wick movie - I'd lay waste to any fool who thought about harming my dog.
But as that same Gen-X man of a certain age, I also remember the 3 consecutive years I dressed up for Hallowe'en as Superman, wearing the little red cape that my mother had so proudly sewn for me. The same kid with the Superman Underoos who repeatedly listened to the John Williams soundtrack on 8 track until his dad just couldn't take it anymore.
That little kid saw the best in people. He learned to be kind to others, because being kind is it's own reward. He learned to be understanding of the other kids, even the ones who made fun of him in school for being "fat," a "nerd" and a "shitty athlete."
Most importantly, he learned to help others who were facing similar challenges. Form bonds. Build friendships and community. To do for others without worrying about "what's in it for me."
I took my daughter to see the new Superman movie this past weekend. Ostensibly, she was in it for the flying dog - also, a damned sweet element of the movie - and the chance to have snacks. What we both saw in the theatre that day was impossible to miss.
Smiles on faces. Kids and their adults wearing the S-Shield proudly. People enjoying each others company within the community and finding joy in a movie where the ultimate message was the power found within yourself was made only stronger when you found empathy for others and worked together to keep the selfish, lying bullies at bay.
Will you find shit-posters online making vLogs about the movies flaws? About some questionable CGI or potential plotholes? Probably. Those fucks would do the same thing to Schindler's List if Spielberg released it today - anything to make a grifting buck online (For Example: Why does everything this woke Jew make have to be about the Holocaust anyway? Was it really all that bad? --- For the record, Yes, yes it was. Asshats.)
So if you're wondering why you should go and see the newest Superman to grace the silver screen? Well, that's a choice for you to make.
But for me? Superman reminds me how to be a better person. Not a harder person. Not a stronger person.
A better one.
And if we want a better tomorrow, maybe following Superman's example isn't such a cynical idea.
#LookUp
AK
LINKTREE
